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Minimalism: So hard in reality I like to think of myself as a minimalist, but the reality is that I still have too much stuff: too many clothes, too many books, too many retro games for consoles which no longer quite work. I’ve always sourced as many clothes as

Eric Carle, celebrated author and illustrator of astonishingly well known books for children, passed away this year – but he lived to see his most beloved book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, hit the 50-year anniversary of its 1969 release. According to Penguin Random House, a copy sells every 30 seconds. There’

All ears Work. It’s where you hear some pretty good stories – but also, in my experience, where good stories are made. When I was a teacher, I started to think of work as essentially a form of theatre: you put on your costume, you get onto the stage, you

There are still some surprises left A while back I wrote about novelty, somewhat worried about the collective cynicism of humanity, that perhaps we feel there are no true surprises left. But the scientists aren’t about to run out of work: there are still unanswered questions, everywhere. Today’s

When you’re working on something good Some people assume that to be creative you need all the space, a clear schedule, and no constraints whatsoever. Only then, when everything is completely serene and there are no clouds in the sky, can the creating begin. But that’s not strictly

Whelmed We often hear of people being overwhelmed or underwhelmed, but you can actually also just be whelmed. The Oxford dictionary defines it likes this: whelm — engulf, submerge, or bury: a swimmer whelmed in a raging storm — [no object] well up or flow: the brook whelmed up from its source